DMD_M.2.1.003
Please quote this SOP in your Methods.
Use of treadmill and wheel exercise to assess dystrophic state
SOP (ID) Number
DMD_M.2.1.003
Version
1.0
Issued
November 12th , 2008
Last reviewed
May 23rd, 2015
Author
Robert W. Grange
Virginia Tech, Department of Human Nutrition, Foods
and Exercise, Blacksburg, VA, USA
Working group
members
Annamaria De Luca (Sezione di Farmacologia,
Dipartimento Farmacobiologico, Facoltà di Farmacia,
Università di Bari, Italy)
Annemieke Aartsma-Rus and Maaike van Putten
(Leiden University Medical Center, Department of
Human Genetics, Leiden, The Netherlands)
Jean-Marc Raymackers (Université Catholique de
Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique)
Kanneboyina Nagaraju (Children’s National Medical
Center, Washington DC, USA)
Markus Rüegg (Biozentrum, University of Basel,
Switzerland)
SOP responsible
Robert W. Grange
Official reviewer
Markus Rüegg
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DMD_M.2.1.003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. OBJECTIVE
2. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY
3. CAUTIONS
3.1. Wheel test
3.2. Treadmill
4. MATERIALS
4.1. Voluntary wheel running
4.2. Enforced treadmill exercise
5. METHODS
5.1. Wheel running
5.2. Treadmill exercise
6. EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
7. REFERENCES
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1.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this SOP is to describe how treadmill or wheel running exercise can be
used to evaluate the disease-related impairment of neuromuscular function in mdx mice to
better determine the benefits of a specific treatment. The ultimate aim of a treatment should
be to improve neuromuscular function. Because the dystrophic process affects limb skeletal
muscle, the diaphragm and the heart, improvements in these muscles should be ideally
reflected in better physiologic performance. Physiologic performance can be assessed by the
mouse running on a treadmill or on a wheel. For the treadmill, mice are subjected to a running
paradigm to determine the time to exhaustion and the total distance run. For the wheel
running, mice voluntarily run on a wheel in their home cage, and the improvement in distance
run per night, per week, per month etc. is assessed. These approaches can be used to quantify
the disease-related impairment in either sedentary and/or chronically exercised (i.e., exercise
trained) mdx mice. While the purpose of this SOP is to describe an approach to evaluate the
dystrophic phenotype with or without treatment, and in a sedentary or trained state, specific
exercise protocols or experimental conditions can also be used to aggravate the dystrophic
process. This approach is described in a separate SOP (DMD_M.2.1.001, Use of treadmill and
wheel exercise for impact on mdx mice phenotype).
2.
SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY
Running exercise on either a treadmill or a wheel can be used to assess mdx phenotype
and/or to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions with pharmacotherapies (Granchelli
et al., 2000; De Luca et al., 2003; Radley and Grounds, 2006; Brunelli et al., 2007; Minetti et al.,
2006), gene or cellular strategies (Denti et al., 2006), or nutritional interventions (Call et al.,
2008; Dorchies et al., 2006). Both treadmill and wheel running can be used as early as weaning
age, although mice with spinal muscle atrophy have been trained on a running wheel as early as
10 days old (Grondard et al., 2005). As described below, it is mandatory that the treadmill
controls provide for setting and maintaining a specific speed and for setting and maintaining a
horizontal, downhill or uphill orientation. Downhill running is used to generate eccentric
contractions in vivo. However, mdx mice can barely tolerate this type of running, and thus it can
only be used for short-term proof-of-concept approaches. However, this may be a valuable
acute test to discriminate the efficacy of a treatment if the dystrophic mice show only minor
muscle damage similar to wild type mice, whereas the untreated dystrophic mice demonstrate
severe muscle damage. All the conditions described below need to be followed carefully to
allow comparison between laboratories. Although less stringent, these recommendations also
apply to wheel running.
3.
CAUTIONS
As is true for any behavioral tests, variables concerning the environment and the
animals used must be kept constant throughout the study. These include housing conditions
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(light, humidity, background noise, etc.), feeding state, schedule of the experiments (morning /
afternoon), strain, sex and age of the mice.
Exercise can modify the progression of the disease, therefore it is essential to use
standardized protocols and the proper control mice (e.g., Call et al., 2008; Carter et al., 1995).
3.1
Wheel test
Advantages
The wheel test reveals each individual animal’s voluntary capacity for running. There is
no need for further acclimatization after the first session and minimal human intervention is
required while the mice run. This exercise can be initiated during early maturation (usually at
or after weaning) and continued for set periods of time (e.g., one to several weeks) or
indefinitely throughout the mouse’s life, according to the experimental purposes. Noninvasive
in vivo testing offers the great advantage that it can be readministered, so that each animal can
become its own control (provided that the mice are examined during a steady-state phase of
neuromuscular development, i.e. 4-6 months of age). Obviously, this implies making the same
examinations in untreated animals, to differentiate the effects of exercise from those due to the
treatment.
Disadvantages
There can be wide variation in the amount of running between individual mice, requiring
a large number of animals to reach statistical significance. To determine the number of animals
required, a Power analysis should be performed. There are also differences between male and
female runners; females run further each night. Other disadvantages, which mainly relate to the
use of wheel running for chronic exercise, are that the mice are caged individually, with a
possible impact on their behavior, and that a change in wheel properties as a result of dirt
accumulation can potentially increase the effort required by the animal to perform the running
test. Differences in the design of particular wheels may also account for the different results
obtained by different laboratories: Indeed, some designs allow the wheel resistance to be set to
increase the workload. Although generally affordable, a complete setup can also be somewhat
expensive.
3.2
Treadmill
Advantages
Exercise parameters such as speed, duration and angle of the treadmill can be strictly
controlled to fulfill a variety of experimental protocols and allow a precise exercise load to be
set. All of the mice belonging to an experimental group undergo the same protocol and this
allows precise monitoring of the neuromuscular performance of each mouse in and between
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experimental groups. Control of the parameters facilitates comparison of results from different
laboratories. Ideally, if the environmental and exercise conditions are the same, this will limit
bias.
Disadvantages
Unlike wheel running, treadmill experiments cannot be conducted without an
acclimatizing period of 3 to 10 days, during which animals become familiar with the apparatus
and can then train for longer periods of time and at higher speeds. Running can induce a certain
level of stress in the animal. Continuous supervision by one or more experimenters is required.
Although anecdotal evidence indicates that the concomitant running of 5-6 mice ensures better
adherence (emulation phenomenon?), experimenters may choose to reduce the number of
mice being tested at the same time to more closely observe each individual mouse. As a
consequence, the time required to conduct the test will be substantial. Finally, treadmills are
expensive. As described above, there is great variability in the performances achieved by
different animals, even from the same litter. The response to a given drug itself is certainly
different from one mouse to another. There are three possibilities for dealing with this
variability: (1) monitor each mouse individually, before, during and after treatment, and express
the efficacy of a drug as the post/pre ratio (“mean of the differences”, rather than “differences
in the means”); (2) adapt the experimental condition to their initial performances; this implies
determining for example, the maximal speed at which the animal can run, and measuring time
to exhaustion at 80% of the maximal speed; and (3) use only mice that demonstrate a
comparable performance, as determined by a preliminary test. Optimally, the 3 possibilities can
be used together. This approach will increase the experiment time, but should lower the
variability so that an effect has a greater chance to be observed.
4.
MATERIALS
4.1
Voluntary wheel running
A metal mouse wheel can be placed on the cage floor, suspended from the cage top or
attached to the cage side. Exercise data can be obtained from the wheel via self-built detection
systems or by automated commercial systems. Two examples of self-built systems are the
following; (1) a small magnet can be attached to the wheel and a sensor from a bicycle
pedometer attached to the back of the cage (Radley and Grounds, 2006); (2) a metal tab
attached to the rear of the wheel can be used to interrupt a light signal to a photo electric gate.
Each signal interrupt can be recorded on a laptop computer using a digital data acquisition card
(National Instruments USB-6501, Part # 779205-01) and a custom Labview program (Call et al.
2008). In both cases, the sensor records single wheel revolutions. Daily and total distance (km),
as well as maximal and average speed can be recorded each day (e.g., Radley and Grounds,
2006). A more sophisticated computerized monitoring system can be used to collect precise
data on the patterns of running and stopping (e.g., Lafayette Instruments, Inc.; MiniMitter with
Vital View software, Minimitter Inc.).
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4.2
Enforced treadmill exercise
A variety of treadmills are commercially available and allow the mouse to perform
horizontal, uphill, or downhill running at a fixed speed. Each lane of the treadmill is physically
separated on the same belt, so that up to six mice can be exercised simultaneously at the same
speed and angle. Some treadmills have computerized systems to record exercise time, and a
grid for delivering a low-intensity electric shock to the mouse’s paws when the mouse stops.
Other treadmills are built in a closed environment that allows the collection of respiratory gases
for detailed analysis of gas exchange. One of the most widely used treadmill models is from
Columbus Instruments (illustrated below).
5.
METHODS
5.1
Wheel running
Individually caged mice are allowed to freely move on the wheel for exercise. According
to the circadian rhythm of rodents, mice generally run at night. The detection system records
and saves the active running time for each mouse in each cage. Every day the experimenter can
obtain data of the total distance run, the time of major activity and/or of rest, and the intervals
of active time, such as shortest and longest lag interval time. Single animal data can be then
compared with those of other animals and eventually pooled if responses are uniform. (Hara et
al., 2002; Radley and Grounds; 2006; Brunelli et al., 2007). Note that accumulation of dust and
other materials may increase rotational resistance of the wheel. Free movement of the wheel
and the correct recording of revolutions should be regularly checked and corrected as
necessary. In addition, the experimenter should also be aware that mice may turn the wheel
during normal movement in the cage without actually running in it.
Frequency, intensity and duration of wheel running. Frequency is the number of times
the animals are allowed to run per week. This could be set for an experiment from 1 to 7 days
per week. For non-computerized wheel systems, the wheel would have to be locked by the
experimenter to prevent running on non-exercise days. This could be done by using a wire hook
from the wheel to the wire cage top for example. Intensity is the load against which the mouse
works on the wheel. In most cases, the mice will only run against the resistance of the wheel
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itself. However, some computerized systems (e.g., Lafayette Instruments, Inc.) have an
electronic brake on the wheel that can increase the resistance through computer control.
Duration is the time the mouse is allowed to run on the wheel for any given exercise
session. Normally the mice would be allowed to run all night, but duration of 1 or more hours
could also be used. Ideally, with a computerized system, the brake could be programmed to
come on after a certain duration. However, if duration is to be manipulated with a manual
running system, an experimenter would have to be present to limit the duration by manually
locking the wheel.
Matched workloads. Exercise induces both positive and negative adaptations. To avoid
differences between treatment groups due to the amount of exercise performed, the dose of
exercise should be matched. For example, exercise doses for wt and mdx runners could be
matched as follows: (1) mice from two different treatment groups are randomly paired (e.g.,
mdx and wt mice). Mdx running dose (i.e., distance per night) for each pair will be recorded,
then this data will be used to ensure a match of the distance run per night by the paired wt
runner. Running by wt and mdx mice will be initially staggered by one night. Mdx but not wt
mice of each pair will run the first night, to record the running dose. On the 2 nd night through
the end of the training period, both mdx and wt mice of each pair will run, with wt mice
restricted to the dose of running performed by the mdx mice the previous night. Wt mice will
complete the training period one day later than mdx mice. Ideally, computer controlled running
wheels for each wt mouse would stop the wheel automatically when the appropriate distance
from the respective mdx mouse for each pair is reached. If a computerized system is not
available, this would have to be done manually.
Example Study: Two groups of mdx mice (n=10 per group), one control and one treated
are compared for distance run per night, week, month, etc. for a given training period at a given
frequency, intensity and duration.
Frequency = 7 times per week
Intensity = wheel resistance only
Duration = self selected
Training period = 3, 6, 12 weeks (e.g., Call et al., 2008; Hayes et al, 1996).
Additional groups of sedentary mdx mice without and with treatment could also be included in
the study. This would help to distinguish between the effects of the treatment alone and the
treatment plus exercise.
Another approach would be to have two groups of sedentary mdx mice, one treated
with a given drug and one that is not. After a set treatment period (e.g., 6 weeks), both groups
of mice are assessed for their capacity to run on the wheel over some set period (e.g., 3 weeks).
More sophisticated analyses could also be conducted while the mice run on wheels in an
enclosed chamber so gas exchange can be evaluated (e.g., TSE Systems Inc.,
LabMaster/Calorimetry system; Columbus Instruments, Inc. Oxymax/CLAMS system).
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Voluntary wheel running distances by C57BL/10 and mdx mice. Maximum values
during the training period are reported below.
Carter et al.,1995: 4 weeks training; young mdx mice (gender not reported) aged 4-8 weeks ~6000 m/night; young C57BL/10 mice - ~9000 m/night; old mdx mice aged 6-7months - ~3000
m/night; old C57BL/10 mice aged 6-7 months - ~9500 m/night.
Hayes and Williams, 1996: young male mdx mice aged 4-20 weeks - ~5400 m/night; young
C57BL/10 - ~8500 m/night.
Call et al., 2008: 3 weeks training; male mdx mice aged 3-6 weeks - ~2000 m/night; male
C57BL/10 mice aged 3-6 weeks - ~6000 m/night.
Treadmill exercise
One mouse is placed in each lane and is enforced to run at a certain speed with the
treadmill orientation held at 0°. The mice are run to exhaustion and the time of running is
recorded.
Chronic exercise. When treadmill running is used for chronic exercise, a fixed protocol
should be used, according to protocols and procedures described in detail in the SOP
M.2.1_001, Use of treadmill and wheel exercise for impact on mdx mice phenotype. (Granchelli
et al., 2000; De Luca et al., 2003, 2005).
In this SOP, the exercise protocols described are used to assess the impact of treatment
on neuromuscular function. For example, the effectiveness of a drug treatment could be
evaluated by assessing how far the mouse can run before exhaustion. Other parameters (in vivo
and mostly ex vivo) can then be used to evaluate the disease state. Again, these approaches are
described in other SOPs. However, information (e.g., the number of stops/mouse; the duration
of the stop) obtained during each exercise session are also useful in assessing the disease
severity. For example, mice with a more severe disease state stop more frequently than less
severely diseased mice. To obtain this “stop” information, the number of stops and the duration
(e.g., a stopwatch) of each would have to be recorded. However, to obtain this detailed
information, a second experimenter would be necessary or fewer mice would have to be run if
there is only one experimenter. Consistency of this latter measurement is more difficult to
obtain vs. overall running resistance and therefore less used as readout parameter.
Example exercise training (for evaluation of number of stops during a fixed exercise
duration): Exercise compared to a sedentary group of mdx mice with and without treatment:
(1) 12 m/min for 30 min twice a week for some specified period (e.g., 3, 6 and 8 weeks;
Granchelli et al., 2000; De Luca et al., 2003, 2005). (2) 9m/min for 30 min, twice a week for
some specified period (e.g., 3, 6 and 8 weeks; Kaczor et al., 2007; Hudecki et al., 1993).
Example run to exhaustion: The speed is initially set at 5 m/min for 5 min, and then the
speed is increased 1 m/min every minute until exhaustion. A specific criterion for exhaustion
should be pre-determined. For example, the mouse will not continue running on the treadmill
for 20 s despite repeated gentle nudges to make it do so (e.g., Brunelli et al., 2007; Denti et al.,
2006).
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For this exhaustion test, typical distance values for sedentary wild-type male mice
(C57/BL10) aged 8-12 weeks are approximately 250-300 meters. Values for sedentary mdx mice
of the same age are lower (~180-200 m) with distances even less when the pathology is worse
or subsequent to chronic forced exercise protocols (70-100 m).
Treadmill Maintenance. Most commercial treadmills are designed to collect wastes;
however this is not sufficient for the belt. This has to be properly and gently cleaned after each
exercise session to avoid dust and organic waste from reducing adherence of the mouse paws,
as well as change the speed belt efficiently. Periodically, the speed of the belt has to be verified
by measuring the time required by a small fixed object on the belt to cover the distance
between two points (beginning and end of the lane at a known distance) and verifying that it
corresponds with the speed value chosen by the experimenter.
6.
EVALUATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
When exercise is used to evaluate the progression of the dystrophic pathology and or
the effect of a therapy the objective data obtained are used to determine,
1) the total distance run by each mouse until exhaustion (treadmill)
2) the change in the total distance run by each mouse until exhaustion over time
(longitudinal studies for chronic treatment)
3) the total distance run by each mouse in acute tests and over time (wheel exercise) and
relative speed
4) the duration of each bout of voluntary running session (wheel exercise)
5) change in pattern of running over time (duration and number of shortest and longest
running session) (wheel exercise)
Importantly, the collection of the data should include additional information:
a) that all the mice performed the required exercise correctly (treadmill)
b) the total amount/pattern of exercise performed by each mouse
c) inter-animal variability
d) possible correlations with between therapy and pathology course
All observational data are extremely important to understand the consistency of the
protocol and to account for concomitant disturbing events, such as stress. These observations
include:

Body weight (to be monitored weekly)

Food and water consumption (monitored weekly)

Change in mood (too nervous or too sleepy (monitored daily))
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
Marked change in the ability to perform the exercise (i.e., more than 3 stops per each
treadmill trial session; no wheel exercise)

Change in fore limb strength (as assessed by grip strength)

Change in social habits (for treadmill)
All these data should be consistently recorded in a lab book to provide immediate or
subsequent analysis.
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7.
REFERENCES
Bouchentouf M, Benabdallah BF, Mills P, Tremblay JP. (2006). Exercise improves the success of
myoblast transplantation in mdx mice. Neuromuscul Disord. 8:518-29.
Brunelli S, Sciorati C, D'Antona G, Innocenzi A, Covarello D, Galvez BG, Perrotta C, Monopoli A,
Sanvito F, Bottinelli R, Ongini E, Cossu G, Clementi E. (2007). Nitric oxide release combined with
nonsteroidal antiinflammatory activity prevents muscular dystrophy pathology and enhances
stem cell therapy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:264-269.
Call, JA, Voelker KA, Wolff AV, Macmillan RP, Evans NP, Hulver MW, Talmadge RJ Grange RW.
(2008). Endurance capacity in maturing mdx mice is markedly enhanced by combined voluntary
wheel running and green tea extract. J Appl Physiol. [Epub ahead of print; doi:101152]
Carter GT, Wineinger MA, Walsh SA, Horasek SJ, Abresch RT, Fowler WM Jr. (1995). Effect of
voluntary wheel-running exercise on muscles of the mdx mouse. Neuromuscul Disord 5:323–
332.
De Luca A, Pierno S, Liantonio A, et al. (2003). Enhanced dystrophic progression in mdx mice by
exercise and beneficial effects of taurine and insulin-like growth factor-1. J. Pharmacol. Exper.
Ther. 304:453-463.
De Luca A, Nico B, Liantonio A, et al. (2005). A multidisciplinary evaluation of the effectiveness
of cyclosporine a in dystrophic mdx mice. Am. J. Pathol. 166:477-489.
Denti MA, Rosa A, D'Antona G, Sthandier O, De Angelis FG, Nicoletti C, Allocca M, Pansarasa O,
Parente V, Musarò A, Auricchio A, Bottinelli R, Bozzoni I. (2006). Body-wide gene therapy of
Duchenne muscular dystrophy in the mdx mouse model. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 103:37583763.
Dorchies OM, WagnerS, VuadensO, WaldhauserK, BuetlerTM, KuceraP, RueggUT. (2006). Green
tea extract and its major polyphenol(-)- epigallocatechingallate improve muscle function in a
mouse model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 290:C616–C625.
Grondard C, Biondi O, Armand, AS, Lecolle S, Della Gaspera B, Pariset C, Li H, Gallien CL, Vidal
PP, Chanoine C, Charbonnier F. (2005). Regular exercise prolongs survival in a type 2 spinal
muscular atrophy model mouse. J Neurosci. 25(33):7615-22.
Granchelli JA, Pollina C and Hudecki MS. (2000). Pre-clinical screening of drugs using the mdx
mouse. Neuromuscul Disord. 10(4-5):235-9.
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Hara H, Nolan PM, Scott MO, Bucan M, Wakayama Y, Fischbeck KH. (2002). Running endurance
abnormality in mdx mice. Muscle Nerve 25:207-211.
Hayes A, and Williams DA. (1996). Beneficial effects of voluntary wheel running on the
properties of dystrophic mouse muscle. J Appl Physiol 80: 670-679.
Hayes A, Williams DA. (1998). Contractile function and low-intensity exercise effects of old
dystrophic (mdx) mice. Am. J. Physiol.274 (4 Pt 1):C1138-44.
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